Three Wiser Men
by fb111a
Summary: The War against the Dead is over... three men now sit and wonder... could the victory have been less bitter? That question prompts one of the Old Gods to try again.
1. Tywin I

_"Did it have to be like this?" Samwell Tarly asked. The living had won over the dead, but at such cost._

_"Our fathers would probably figure that we won, and just go on from there," Tyrion Lannister replied._

_"Mine would as well," Jon said._

_"Which one?" Tyrion asked, with an irreverent look._

_"The one who raised me," Jon Snow said. "We can't change the past. We can't undo the mistakes of our fathers."_

_"True," Samwell said. "But I will always wonder."_

_Fate is a fickle thing. In this case, it was one of the Old Gods who thought it over. Yes, those three had been heroes, but the cost had been so high. Perhaps…_

_Yes, touch their fathers with a bit more wisdom…_

**Tywin Lannister**

**266-279 AC**

His beloved Joanna was dead. The birth of his third child – and second son – had been too much. A part of him raged at fate – and even wanted to rage at the Seven themselves. Joanna, though, had seen this as a gift, and begged him to love the child.

If it was a gift, it was hard to see it. The baby was malformed. Cersei had even imagined he would die soon.

No… he'd lost his love. He would not lose another member of his family. Not if he could help it.

Over the eight years since, it was soon obvious that while Tyrion did not have the blessing of looks, his mind was impressive. At dinners, he could recite the sixteen wonders described by Lomas Longstrider – at a very young age.

Tywin's duty as Hand of the King had him away from Casterly Rock for long periods of time. He did ask for constant reports – and in some ways they troubled him.

Tyrion was lonely. He was bored. He had learned tumbling – which was more for the smallfolk, but Tywin paused. Tyrion's physical limitations in a battle were obvious to anyone with the eyes to see, and there were enemies of the family. Perhaps the tumbling could be something to encourage to an extent. Perhaps a Bravosi water dancer would be a good instructor for swordsmanship.

The fact was, he felt torn. It was obvious that King Aerys was becoming mad, and that had escalated since the Defiance at Duskendale. It was getting worse in some cases.

Cersei was smart, but she also was capable of cruelty and manipulation. In the short term, she could make gains, but eventually it would all catch up to her. Jamie, on the other hand, was more interested in being a knight.

The two were close… perhaps too close. Tywin had always wondered why Joanna had placed their bedchambers on opposite sides of the castle… unless.

It was unthinkable. But then again, so were other things. Like Tytos Lannister becoming the Lord of Casterly Rock. But the third son of Gerold the Golden had become the heir when his two older brothers had died in battle. Tywin had felt the need to be hard – to regain what his father had squandered. Wiping out the Reynes and Tarbecks had ended open rebellion, but had he gone too far? Furthermore, had he missed a looming doom – one caused by the stupidity of his own children?

He missed Joanna. She might have given some advice. Good advice.

Well, in any case, with Jamie becoming a Kingsguard, there was little to keep him here in King's Landing. It had been something Jamie wanted, though. Perhaps it would be for the best. Then again, with the way Aerys was becoming more paranoid.

He would head back to Casterly Rock. Tyrion had been left there – King's Landing was no place for a boy of… two and ten.

So, now, he had a decision to make. Like it or not, Tyrion was his heir. He would need to make sure he would be ready to take over as Lord Paramount in the West. He certainly had the intelligence.

His Golden Twins would need to be separated as well. It was time to think on this one. Perhaps it would be a good idea to cement an alliance with the Reach. The Tyrells would be a good choice, binding two of the wealthiest kingdoms together.

Cersei was smart, but she thought she was smarter than she was. Olenna Tyrell would quickly disabuse her of that arrogance. Once the arrogance was broken… he had to admit he could not be sure about what would happen after that. She could become much more deadly in her intrigues… but how would they be directed?

That was really the problem, wasn't it? Cersei was very dangerous. She was cruel, and she thought that gained respect. Well, she was only following his example. It had been a huge mistake… and now, it was almost too late to rein that cruelty in. Or was it?

In any case, he would talk with both his twins before he left.


	2. Tywin II

**Tywin Lannister**

**281 AC**

This could have gone better, he thought.

Oh, the Mad King was dead – and at the hands of his older son. King's Landing was in the hands of Robert Baratheon. But the men he'd sent to secure the royal family went beyond their remit, and Prince Aegon had been murdered, while Princess Elia and Princes Rhaenys had been assaulted. Gregor Clegane, at least, had paid with his life – slain by Ned Stark and Jamie.

Tywin had always found Gregor useful in some cases, especially for trials by combat. Well, that was a loss. Clegane's cruelty, though, would have been a bigger negative in the long run.

Lorch, on the one hand, had lived and talked, and made it clear that they had been given strict instructions not to harm the royal family. He was getting a one-way trip to the Wall.

Ned Stark had initially berated Jamie for killing the Mad King, but when Jamie had blurted out the news about the wildfire and the Mad King's last order, Ned's attitude had changed. So had that of Robert, who had given orders to move the wildfire to a (relatively) safe place.

"So, what to do about this situation?" Robert Baratheon asked the council, consisting of Ned Stark, King Robert, Jon Arryn, Stannis Baratheon, Hoster Tully, and Tywin.

"My suggestion is simple: Send Elia Martell and Rhaenys to Dorne with the bones of Aegon and the head of Clegane," Tywin said.

"I would agree," Ned Stark said. That generated a quick consensus.

"Very well, we will do so – after we have rescued Lyanna. Ned, take twenty men and head tot eh location Varys gave us," Robert said. "Bring our Lyanna home."

The matter turned to Jamie Lannister.

"Now for one of the harder parts," Robert said. "Jamie Lannister."

"Technically guilty of kingslaying," Stannis said.

"True," Jon Arryn said, "We should keep in mind, though, Jamie only slew the king to save the lives of the people of King's Landing."

"The order was unconscionable," Hoster Tully said.

"I would agree," Tywin said. "Castamere was one thing, and I will be named cruel for that all my days. That being said, what the Mad King ordered is way beyond that. Jamie broke his vows as a Kingsguard in the name of a higher duty."

Tyrion had made that argument earlier when Tywin had learned of the circumstances behind Jamie's actions. Now, Tywin was banking his oldest son's life on the theory his younger son was putting forth.

"When Aerys burned Rickard Stark alive and strangled Brandon Stark, he stopped being a king and became a tyrant," Tywin continued. "A tyrant who ordered the unjust deaths of tens of thousands."

"I would agree," Ned Stark said. "No oath should compel a knight to stand by as tens of thousands of smallfolk are murdered."

Stannis thought it over.

"I have to admit, that is a compelling argument. I wish that had been brought up when I was judging Davos Seaworth," he said. "Very well, I can acknowledge that Ser Jamie Lannister was placed in a position where to save thousands, he had to break his oath as a Kingsguard to stop a tyrant."

"Then I deem Jamie Lannister as Tyrantslayer," Robert said.

Ned Stark left with twenty men to ride to rescue Lyanna. After that, Tywin had to think about what to do in case that rescue was not successful.

Robert was clearly in love with Lyanna. Oh, he whored around, drank, and over-ate, but he had been willing to topple a king over his wolf. Cersei wanted to be a queen. That was plainer than the nose on his face.

But Cersei had a cruel streak – he'd spent a fair bit of the time since he left King's Landing trying to tame it. He had some success in that regard, but not as much as he would have liked.

If Lyanna was alive, he'd dodge the bullet – he'd marry Cersei off to Stannis. It wouldn't quite be queen, but good sister to the king would work out the best for all involved.

Cersei could see he was deep in thought. Tywin had sent her to help the poor in Lannisport for six months. After that, she had spent a year in the Reach with Tyrion and both had been encouraged by Tywin to try a few small schemes. Cersei had never known that he had pre-arranged that with Olenna Tyrell, who had a field day with the neophyte.

She'd come back after that year, humbled by the experience, and realizing she had much to learn.

"So, Father, what do we hope for from this?" Cersei asked.

"That Ned Stark recovers Lyanna alive and well," Tywin said.

"And if not?"

"I once promised you that you would be a queen. I hate to break that promise, but…"

"Father, I would still marry Robert," Cersei said.

"Could you accept that he would be mourning a woman he loved as much as I loved your mother?" Tywin asked – a question that pierced Cersei's hubris. "Cersei, this will require compassion, something that does not come easy to you. In this, you have the same fault I do."

He paused to sip his wine.

"There are some people who deserve our fury – after all, we Lannisters always repay our debts. But fury can be misdirected, a lesson I have learned the hard way with Tyrion."

"Who should I marry, then?" Cersei asked.

"Stannis Baratheon," Tywin said.

"The king's brother," Cersei thought. "There are worse marriages to be had. Robert can then wed that Florent girl. But she is sickly…"

"Leaving Stannis – and then your children – to inherit the Iron Throne," Tywin said.

"It's a sound plan, Father," Cersei said. "I suppose I could come to tolerate Stannis."

"You had better do more than tolerate," Tywin said.

"And if Lyanna dies…" Cersei said.

"If Lyanna dies, then we will deal with that," Tywin said.


End file.
